Warrenton’s quest for an elusive spot in the district championship game was spoiled by missed opportunities, missed assignments, and a little bad luck Friday night in a 56-35 loss to No. 4 seed Helias.It was Warrenton’s second straight loss to Helias in the district semifinals.After climbing back from an early deficit, the top-seeded Warriors found themselves down 42-28 late in the third quarter, when an Alex Vogt sack put Helias in a 3rd-and-23 situation.Warrenton appeared primed to get the ball back with a chance to make it a one-possession game heading into the fourth quarter.Helias converted with a deep pass, however, and scored moments later on a 12-yard run.“Our defense had them in third-and-long situations several times, but we gave up long passes and we didn’t finish it tonight,” Warrenton Head Coach Steve McDowell said.Warrenton would score again to make it a 48-35 game, but a failed onside kick attempt gave Helias good field position and an opportunity to burn the clock in the fourth quarter.“The better team did not win tonight, but they outplayed us,” Warrenton senior lineman Chris Vogt said. “They’re a good ball-team.”Warrenton put itself in an early 7-0 hole after Helias blocked a punt and scored on the ensuing recovery on the Warriors’ first possession.The teams played even the rest of the half, despite a handful of penalties against Warrenton.“We battled back all night long,” McDowell said. “We got in a hole really quick with that blocked punt that they scored on, but we were resilient in the first half. We’d get ourselves in key situations and have a penalty that brought plays back, and you can’t do that against a team like Helias.”Warrenton coaches on the sideline and in the booth voiced their displeasures with the officiating throughout the night, when it appeared Helias blockers got away with holding penalties on key drives.The Crusaders finished with 371 rushing yards, averaging 8.4 yards per carry.“There were times when we were there and got held pretty good tonight, and that certainly didn’t help us,” McDowell said. “We’d have a guy there ready to make a play and all of a sudden our jersey goes tugging the opposite direction. But we were out of position on a couple of them, too.”Helias’ option attack helped spark big runs all night.The Crusaders had touchdown runs of 32, 50 and 60 yards, and added a pair of 23- and 32-yard touchdown passes as well.Warrenton quarterback Brenden Smith tried to match Helias on the ground, rushing for 199 yards on 34 carries.He added 297 passing yards while completing 21-of-43 attempts.Caleb Strauss, Sam Smith and Dylan Smith caught five passes each for a combined 223 yards.Defensively, Smith led the team with 12 tackles.Strauss finished with eight, and Alex Vogt added six.Chris Vogt, Zac Blackwood and Dylan Smith collected five each.“It sucks that Helias ended our season two years in a row, but they’re a really good team,” Chris Vogt said. “We did good things here, and hopefully the younger guys can continue what we’ve built. Some things didn’t go our way tonight, but we got away with a lot too. Football’s a game about overcoming adversity, and we have to learn to overcome those things quicker.”Helias advanced to play No. 2 Moberly in Friday night’s district championship game.Warrenton finishes its season 9-2 after falling in the district semifinals for the third straight season.“I’m very proud of our kids because they played hard all night,” McDowell said. “I know the score doesn’t show it, but I’m proud of them.”.TACKLED FOR LOSS — Warrenton's Chris Vogt wraps up Helias' Daniel Rhea Friday night. The Crusaders outscored the Warriors, 56-35, in their district semifinal win. Derrick Forsythe photo.